


Christmas with the Director of Admissions

by StarlightDragon



Series: The Director of Admissions [7]
Category: Supernatural
Genre: Christmas, Engagement, Family Dinners, Flirting, Fluff, Happy Ending, Light Angst, M/M, Reunions, Ugly Holiday Sweaters
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-12-23
Updated: 2016-12-23
Packaged: 2018-09-11 11:43:03
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,565
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8978293
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/StarlightDragon/pseuds/StarlightDragon
Summary: [can be read as a standalone] The Christmas after Dean and Castiel get engaged, they invite their brothers over to celebrate the holiday. A few small hiccups: Cas hasn't actually mentioned the engagement to his brother, and, it turns out that Sam and Gabriel are a little more interested in each other than in family time.





	

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Aria_Lerendeair](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Aria_Lerendeair/gifts).



> It's a Christmas special!! I've totally been wondering how to introduce Sam and Gabe into this verse for ages, and finally got inspiration a few days back. So this is a Christmas gift for the world's most brilliant co-writer, aria-lerendeair. <3
> 
> If you're reading this and haven't read the rest of the verse - all you need to know is that Dean and Cas dated in high school but split up when Dean broke Cas' heart, then reconnected as adults (by which point Dean is divorced with a teenage daughter) and are now engaged. :)

“Dean! What are you doing upstairs, they’ll be here any moment!”

Cas twiddled with the rings on his finger, pacing up and down the living room in front of the tree. He hadn’t told Dean this, of course, but he was terrified. They’d each invited their brothers over to spend Christmas together, and it was going to be the first time Dean and Gabriel had been in a room together since high school. Since Gabriel had been the one to pick up the pieces back when Dean had broken Cas’ heart, Cas wasn’t entirely sure Gabriel had ever completely forgiven the guy for it.

Which may have been why he had so far failed to mention that he and Dean were now engaged.

Cas had meant to tell him, he really had, it was just… it was Christmas, and he and Dean were so happy, and he really didn’t feel like a lecture from his brother right now.

The doorbell rang. Quietly, Cas slipped his rings off his finger and into his pocket. He brushed himself down, took a deep breath, and then headed to the hallway to open it.

“Cassie!” Gabriel cried in a voice far too loud and enthusiastic for someone who was supposed to be a serious adult, wrapping his brother in a tight hug. “What the hell are you wearing?”

“I could ask you the same question,” Cas replied, staring in horror at Gabriel’s bright red knitted sweater, covered in real candy canes, Christmas lights and glitter.

“It’s Christmas, and you’re wearing a plain white shirt! Come on, Cassie. Live a little. Here, I brought you one too.” Gabriel fished into a carrier bag and pulled out a bright blue sweater, adorned with sequin snowflakes and a cotton ball snowman. Castiel was beginning to suspect that Gabriel had made these sweaters himself.

Resigning himself to a day in Gabriel’s company, Cas unbuttoned his shirt and pulled on the sweater. It was at least comfortable, even though he wasn’t looking forward to his family laughing at him.

“Welcome to our home,” Cas said, trying to smooth down his own hair and greet his guest at the same time. “Thanks for coming all this way just for Christmas.”

“Aw, I wouldn’t have missed it for the world,” Gabriel grinned, messing up the hair that Cas had just fixed and strolling into the living room like it was his house too.

Hearing the commotion from downstairs, it was only a few seconds later that Dean and Katie appeared in the living room too. They glanced from Cas to Gabriel and back again, and in unison, asked, “What the hell are you wearing?”

Gabriel snorted. “Well, I can tell you’re related.”

“Don’t judge me too hard. It looks like you’ve got them too.” Castiel gestured to Gabriel’s carrier bag, still bulging suspiciously.

“My brother is a genius, as usual!” Gabriel produced a green sweater sporting a Christmas tree made out of pipe cleaners, buttons and rhinestones, which he tossed at Dean, and a purple sweater with a majestic beaded Santa with adjustable arms, legs and beard, which was unceremoniously thrown in Katie’s direction. “You have to wear them or no presents!”

Dean and Katie looked possibly even more disgusted than Castiel himself, but did as they were told, pulling the sweaters over their heads and grimacing down at themselves.

“Alright, now we’ve got that out of the way. Dean, Katie, this is my brother Gabriel. You’ve both heard plenty about him. Gabriel, this is my boyfriend Dean and his daughter Katie.”

Dean frowned slightly at the word ‘boyfriend’, but thankfully didn’t comment. He just held out his hand to shake Gabriel’s, smiling nervously.

Gabriel didn’t take it. “Oh, you think you’re forgiven?”

“Gabriel, it was years ago, I was a different person-“

“You broke his heart! Do you have any idea how much ice cream he ate after that breakup? Everything in my Ben & Jerry’s stash! Cas never eats ice cream! That’s how bad it was!”

Dean sighed, looking anywhere except at Gabriel. The air was tense, none of them knowing what to say – until the silence was interrupted by the doorbell ringing.

Gabriel glanced up in surprise. "We're expecting somebody else?"

"Yeah, my brother," Dean grunted, getting up and running away from Gabriel as fast as he could.

A moment later, Dean appeared back in the living room, accompanied by Sam Winchester; tall, his hair loose, dressed in a leather jacket over a tight white T-shirt and even tighter jeans.

"Your brother? Shit, I remember him. Tiniest kid in middle school, had those wire glasses, you used to be able to pick him up with one ha-"

Gabriel broke off when he saw the figure in the doorway. He gulped, his eyes wide and fixed on Sam, his mouth falling open. Castiel was fairly sure he was drooling.

"Uh, yeah. That's me," Sam chuckled, leaning casually against the door and shaking his hair out behind him. "Might have grown a few inches, but I'm still the same person."

Gabriel looked like he wasn't going to be able to speak, but then his face crumpled as he realized. "I didn't know you were coming. I didn't make you a sweater!"

Sam laughed and strolled over, pinching Gabriel's cheeks. "Never mind about that. I'm fine in this, and you look cute enough for the both of us."

Gabriel didn't even need his sweater after that, because his face itself was a bright enough red.

\--

"So, Gabriel Novak. Never thought I'd see you again, I have to say," Sam commented as he dug into a large plate of food that looked like it was mostly mashed potatoes.

"Same goes for you. Though I'm not exactly complaining." Gabriel's plate was also piled high with food, and yet he was staring at Sam like he was the most delicious thing on the menu.

"What have you been up to since... hell, last time I saw you was the summer before I started high school. You'd have been in college, right? Business school?"

Gabriel shrugged, trying to look cool. As cool as it was possible to look wearing a candy cane sweater and eating a large spoonful of nothing but cranberry sauce. "Dropped out. None of my professors liked me. They didn't appreciate my unique business ideas. I'm telling you, a purse that is also a sandwich maker is the future. Make lunch on your commute!"

He flashed his most winning smile at Sam. Dean and Castiel exchanged looks, trying to hide their own amused grins.

"Of course," Sam agreed, a tiny smirk on his face. "I mean, you'd have to figure out a way to avoid a fire hazard, to store both the ingredients and the prepared sandwich at their correct temperatures, and also keep size and weight down, but the idea itself..."

"So what you're saying is that I just need a better business plan?" Gabriel looked hopeful.

Sam giggled into his mashed potatoes. "Sure. If that's how you want to look at it."

Gabriel shrugged, his smile not going anywhere. "Well, anyway, I moved on from that idea. I decided I wanted to travel and decided to hitchhike to Australia."

"Don't you mean _across_ Australia?"

"Oh no," Gabriel said in a dramatic voice. "I mean _to_ Australia. Which might explain why I wasn't very successful. But I did get as far as Nevada before I ran out of food money. Got a job in a Dick's Last Resort kitchen in Vegas while I tried to figure some shit out, and I never really came back. 'Cept once a year to see my little bro."

Sam raised an eyebrow. "Wow. I don't really know what to say to that. It's certainly more interesting than what I do, or any of my friends."

"Oh, and what does Sam Winchester do now that he's not sucking up to teachers and tattling on kids who pass notes in class?" Gabriel asked, leaning his head on his hand and fluttering his eyelashes. It was almost like he and Sam had completely forgotten that there was anybody else there.

"I'm an executive in a publishing house. Mostly in New York, but I travel to the other locations quite a bit too. It's not particularly exciting."

"You don't think? You're all - private jets and tuxedos and attractive foreign girls desperate to make it as authors..."

Sam threw his head back and laughed. "That has never once happened to me. And I wouldn't want it to. But if you want to imagine me like that, then I'm not complaining."

The two of them were both completely ignoring their food now, leaning across the table towards each other, far closer than was polite in general company.

Dean cleared his throat. "Hey, uh, Sam, can you pass me those sausages in bacon?"

\--

"Alright, how about you three take your drinks into the living room, Cas and I will get the washing up," Dean suggested when they'd all finished their last bites of gingerbread cake, giving his fiance a pointed look.

Katie caught the look and cleared her throat, sweeping several nearby dishes into her arms, even pulling the spoon right out of Gabriel's hand. "Yeah, I'll help. The guests should get to sit down, after all."

Dean frowned at his daughter but didn't complain, collecting a few dishes himself and moving into the kitchen.

As soon as the door was closed behind the three of them, Castiel dumped the dishes in the dishwasher and turned to the other two. "Well. I certainly was not expecting that."

Dean, meanwhile, had the world's biggest shit eating grin on his face. "I'm gonna tease Sam about this forever. He always did have a thing for Gabriel, you know. Used to follow him around like a damn puppy. I forgot about that."

"Seems like it's the other way round now," Katie smirked, flicking a loose sequin from her sweater at Dean.

"Indeed. Though I believe that Gabriel's dating life has historically been... I am not sure how to put this gently," Cas said, biting his lip.

"A fucking mess?" Dean suggested at the same time as Katie said, "A trainwreck?"

"Well, yes, precisely," Cas nodded. "Those would be valid descriptions. All I am saying is that in your position, I imagine I would be worried about Sam. So, if you'd like me to have a word with Gabriel about his behavior..."

Katie and Dean both looked incredulous.

"Cas. I think you're great and I'm really glad you're marrying my dad, but please, it's Christmas, can we just let them be cute without getting all serious about it? It's not a big deal."

Dean wrapped an arm around Cas' waist and squeezed. "Katie's right. Sam knows how to handle himself, he's not a dumb kid anymore. They're just flirting. I'm sure Gabriel will get distracted when he sees something else shiny."

Cas nodded, pasting on a smile and leaning into Dean. He just wished Gabriel would take the same attitude when it came to him, but that didn't seem to be happening.

"Alright. You oldies want to get back in there?" Katie sighed, not waiting for a response before she strolled over to the door, subtly swiping a box of chocolates on her way out before her dads had a chance to notice.

\--

"Am I a real person?"

"No," Dean said.

"I wish," Gabriel chimed in.

"So I'm a fictional character, alright. Am I from a movie?" Sam asked.

"Yes," Katie grinned, folding her legs underneath her. She'd picked the name written on Sam's head and was grinning as she watched him try to puzzle it out.

"A comedy movie?"

"Nope!"

"Science fiction?"

"...Not really."

Sam rolled his eyes. "It's yes or no only. Anyway. Action movie?"

"Yep!"

Castiel smiled and relaxed into the couch, his eyes drifting shut, enjoying the moment. Dean reached out and took his hand, squeezing it on top of Cas' knee.

"Hmm," Sam considered, pulling a face. "Marvel movie?"

"Yeah." Katie looked put out. "How'd you get that so fast?"

"Cause I'm good," Sam winked, and Gabriel looked at him with heart eyes. "Alright. Am I a member of the Avengers?"

"Yeah, you are." Katie rolled her eyes, resigned to being defeated.

"Am I on Team Cap?"

"Of course. I don't hate you enough to put you on Team Iron Man."

Sam tilted his head and squinted, a move he'd picked up from Cas a lifetime ago. "Nah, you like me, a lot. And that means I am Cap. I'm Steve Rogers!"

Sam raised his arms into the air in triumph, while Katie scowled. "That's not fair, you're supposed to use the questions, not psychology or some crap!"

"Not my fault you're too obvious," Sam crowed, turning to Gabriel and licking his lips, purposefully tormenting him. "Right, I'm gonna think of one for you now."

Gabriel swallowed. "A-alright," he said, his voice cracking.

Cas twitched against Dean's shoulder. He hadn't even realized that he'd been falling asleep, caught up in the haze of post-dinner holiday happiness.

"Well, I think Cassie here could do with some caffeine," Dean chuckled, kissing the top of Cas' head. "Anyone else want a coffee?"

Everyone put in their orders, and Dean made to stand up, but Cas put a hand on his shoulder to stop him. "I'll get them. You're right, I will fall asleep unless I move around a little."

He got to his feet and stretched his arms behind his head, his vision blurring with tiredness. As he attempted to stumble towards the kitchen, Cas tripped over a huge tin of cookies that Gabriel had left on the floor after unwrapping earlier.

He didn't fall, but the sudden movement dislodged the rings from his pocket. They flew into the air and collided with the coffee table, bouncing and clinking along the glass surface, catching the light, the noise ringing loud and clear,  completely impossible for anyone sitting around to miss.

Dean lunged for the rings and caught them both when they rolled off the table and onto the floor, before they had a chance to disappear underneath the couch.

"Here," Dean grinned, completely missing the way Sam and Gabriel were staring. "I got them. You be careful with these, okay? We can get them resized if they're falling off your fingers."

Dean kissed each ring in turn and took Castiel's hand to slide them both back onto his ring finger, where they belonged. Cas didn't try to stop him. He just stared in horror, completely frozen to the spot, not even able to look at Gabriel's reaction.

"Cas... what are..." Gabriel was lost for words for the second time in one day - a new record. He just pointed to Cas' hand.

"Gabriel, I was going to tell you. I promise. But I was scared you would cause an argument and I wanted to avoid that at Christmas. So I planned to wait until the holidays were over. And possibly until you were back in California."

Dean dropped Cas' hand and took a step backwards, looking hurt. "You didn't tell him? Cas, it's been almost six months, it's not like this happened last week! What, are you ashamed to tell your brother we're engaged or something?"

"Please," Castiel begged, trying to give consoling looks to Katie and Sam while scared out of his mind that he'd really fucked up here. "Dean, that is entirely the opposite of the truth. I know Gabriel was concerned when you and I first began dating again. I also knew that he... that he had no reason to be."

Cas took a deep breath, not wanting to mess this up. He didn't ever want to do anything that could hurt his and Dean's relationship. He already regretted doing it once, and he was going to save it, even if it meant taking out the trash every day for the rest of his life and buying Gabriel a house sized chocolate gift basket.

"In the interests of wanting to make my own decisions in a relationship that makes me very happy, rather than allowing my brother to become involved... I chose to keep our engagement quiet. I apologize. I should at least have discussed this with you first."

Dean shook his head, grabbing a piece of discarded wrapping paper and shredding it between his fingers.

Gabriel finally managed to find his voice. “You’re engaged?”

Cas rolled his eyes. “Yes, the rings would indicate that.”

“Who proposed?”

Cas pulled a face, daring to glance at Dean. “That’s kind of a funny story… we were both, separately, planning to propose. Dean was the first to get up the courage.”

Gabriel rounded on Dean. “You proposed to my little brother?”

Dean snorted. "Yeah, you know, despite what Cas seems to think, I actually was involved in all this."

Gabriel shook his head, waving away Dean's temper tantrum. “No, I mean... you proposed to my little brother? As in, you want to marry him and spend the rest of your life with him?”

Dean almost wanted to deny it, but he knew that if he did, it might well be the biggest lie he'd ever told. And he'd already lied to himself about this exact thing for long enough. 

“Course I do, Gabriel. I’ve already been without him once. I don’t ever want to be without him again. I was lucky enough to get a second chance with Cas, and no fucking way am I going to do anything that might hurt that.”

Gabriel blinked, and for a moment nobody was quite sure if he was going to yell or explode or spontaneously combust, but he didn’t do any of those things. 

He just held out his hand for Dean to shake.

Dean took it, meeting Gabriel’s eyes. “So does this mean-“

Gabriel gave an exaggerated sigh and snatched his hand back, folding his arms. “I forgive you. I thought you were just going to mess with my brother again the same way you did last time, have your fun and then ditch him when it suited you, but if you’re this serious about him, then I guess you have changed. You’re still kind of a dick, but Cas always did have terrible taste. So long as you’re not gonna hurt him, I’ll be nice to you. Mostly. But if you ever do hurt him again, then you better believe I own several sharp knives and I know how to use them.”

“I don’t even want to kn-“

“Right, I forgot to mention. I’m now the sous chef at a top LA restaurant. We have a Michelin star.”

Sam smiled, looking surprised by this news and maybe seeing Gabriel in a new light. He jumped into the conversation. 

"Really? You know, I, uh, travel to LA for my job sometimes. Perhaps you should give me the restaurant name. Just in case I happened to be around. Or something."

Gabriel's face lit up and his eyes widened in disbelief. "I'll do that. And I should probably also give you my number, too. That way you can, uh, call ahead, that is, if you decide to come. And I'll make something special for you."

"Smooth," Katie muttered under her breath.

\--

Dean leaned against the front door once Sam and Gabriel had waved goodbye - at suspiciously similar times - facing Castiel, who was hovering by the coat rack.

"You sure you're not ashamed of telling people we're engaged?"

Cas glanced down at his rings, back in their rightful places on his finger, the constant reminder of how much he loved Dean. Then he met Dean's eyes.

"The day after you first proposed, I went into work and I told everyone. Everyone. I told the barista in the coffee shop and the guard on the security desk and the assistant who delivered my mail and the prospective students who came in for a tour. You know that usually I find conversation difficult with those I do not know, especially personal conversation... but that day, I just could not keep the news to myself. And later, after I had proposed? The same thing happened. The exact same."

Dean frowned, shifting from one foot to another. "So what are you trying to say?"

"I am trying to say that when it comes to everybody in the world besides Gabriel, I have always been eager to talk about how lucky I am to have you, and how I will be even luckier to be your husband. Gabriel is... complicated. He has always been overprotective, and especially recently, when he no longer lives close by to look after me. He was the only person I kept the news from. But I should have told you, and I'm so sorry, and I... I am very, very glad he knows now."

Dean gave Cas a soft, shy smile. He opened his mouth to speak, but then changed his mind, and instead stepped forwards and wrapped Cas in a tight hug, burying his face in his neck, squeezing him, finding his left hand so that he could clink their rings together.

When they pulled apart, both of them had to blink and wipe their eyes.

"Come on. Katie's going out to an all night diner with some of her high school friends. And now that Gabriel's gone, I can take off this ridiculous sweater and change into my final Christmas present for you."

**Author's Note:**

> you can talk to me about castiel in christmas lingerie at **[casandsip.tumblr.com](casandsip.tumblr.com)**
> 
> or to aria about the same thing at **[aria-lerendeair.tumblr.com](aria-lerendeair.tumblr.com)**


End file.
